Weather forecasts really leave a lot to be desired.
Checking the weather report via the Wi-Fi signal generated by her own body, Shiratori coldly stared at the forecast’s public apology.
Modern meteorological predictions were quite different from the past, boasting an accuracy rate of ninety-nine percent.
Yet, looking at the scene of drizzling rain before her eyes, she was clearly witnessing that remaining one percent.
It felt as though whenever someone was about to do something particularly important, that tiny, negligible probability would be infinitely magnified—much like a person with social anxiety who finally overcame their fear to go outside, only to be trapped at home by a torrential downpour.
She had already checked out of the inn and was currently holding a light-blue umbrella, walking along the quiet streets.
The rain wasn’t falling very hard, and the droplets hitting the ground didn’t even splash onto her leather shoes.
Yet, a moist sensation at the corners of her eyes constantly gave her the illusion that it was pouring.
“Where should I go next?”
Her scheduled itinerary for today had been completely thrown into disarray by the heavy rain.
The quietness of the streets caused a slight panic in her heart, which continuously stimulated her tear ducts, weaving a melancholic atmosphere.
Fortunately, her identity as a Spirit had still not been discovered, so she could continue living here in peace.
She simply wondered how many days she could remain in a state of Silent Manifestation.
Unlike that red-and-black-themed Spirit named Kurumi, Shiratori didn’t know how to regulate her own Reiryoku.
Thus, she had no idea how many more days she could hold out.
Still, if she practiced a bit more, she was confident she could reach a level where she could come and go as freely as Kurumi.
However…
with time constraints looming over her, Shiratori felt a sense of urgency lingering in her mind.
Carrying these thoughts as she walked forward, she decided to wander a bit longer in the rain.
That tear-jerking yet tearless feeling was quite nice; recording it might be a good—
Thump!
Her exquisite blue notebook slipped from her hand.
A familiar corner, a familiar collision, but this time, the person had finally changed.
“…Ngh.”
The location of the collision’s sting was slightly different from usual; it seemed this wasn’t that blue-haired boy.
Yet, just as she was about to confirm who she had bumped into, the other party’s voice pre-empted her.
“Yoshino!
You have to watch where you’re going!
Look, didn’t you just bump into a big sister!”
A slightly comical voice rang out.
Shiratori tilted her head, staring deadpan at the young girl sitting on the ground.
She had an exquisite face like a French doll, wore a large hooded cloak decorated with rabbit ears, and her left hand bore a rather silly-looking rabbit puppet.
The puppet squirmed and wiggled, talking down to the girl named Yoshino sitting on the pavement.
“Wow!
What a coincidence!
Looks like this big sister is a Spirit too~ I wonder if she’s interested in helping out our Yoshino?
Of course, even if you do something blush-inducing along the way, as long as…”
Perhaps owing to ventriloquism, the puppet produced a peculiar, sharp voice.
“Yoshinon!”
So the rabbit puppet was named Yoshinon—a name given by its companion, it seemed.
The puppet’s mouth was violently covered by a tiny hand, and Yoshino lowered her head with a crimson face.
Alright, it didn’t seem to be ventriloquism after all.
That initial thought was instantly shot down merely ten seconds later.
She had just detected a distinct connection of Reiryoku on the puppet. New chapters come out on g.com first.
If she wasn’t mistaken, it was likely a second personality…
right?
Speaking of which, this entrance was really—subtle.
Shiratori extended her umbrella over, shielding Yoshino from the rain, then slowly bent down and reached out her hand.
“…”
Yoshino took a secretive glance.
Her desire to reach out was quickly shot down by her own hesitation, like solving a true-or-false question she wasn’t sure about—extremely cautious.
Just like that blue-haired boy she met before, she could clearly sense the other party’s goodwill, yet didn’t dare rashly accept it.
“My name is Shiratori.
Nice to meet you.”
Noticing the girl’s guard, Shiratori put on a warm smile within the bounds of her understanding.
She tilted her head while introducing herself, extending her hand a little further.
Yoshino’s eyes sparkled faintly, and she reached out her hand in kind.
Though her movement was far slower than Shiratori’s, it was a good start.
The scene held still like that until their fingertips finally touched.
Shiratori grasped the girl’s hand and pulled her up.
At that moment, the long-silent rabbit puppet—Yoshinon—finally made a sound again.
“I knew Yoshino could do it!
You did it!
Yoshino is the absolute best!”
Yoshinon’s excited voice caused Shiratori to knit her brows slightly.
“Big Sister Shiratori~ Let me introduce her: this kid is Yoshino!
The best girl in the world!”
“As for me, I’m Yoshinon, Yoshino’s best friend!”
Yoshinon proudly waved its arms around, acting like an over-enthusiastic mother bragging about how great her child was.
“Mhm.
Nice to meet you.”
“Uh—”
Yoshinon wobbled slightly, its voice coming to a sudden halt.
“Um…
Sister Shiratori…”
Yoshino suddenly interrupted the somewhat awkward conversation between the two, reaching out to tug at the hem of Shiratori’s skirt.
“Is something wrong?
If it’s about safety, I’ll do my best to protect you.
The threat level humans assigned to me is S-class.
As long as we don’t run into anyone exceptionally abnormal, I’m confident I can keep you safe.”
“W-What?!”
This time Yoshinon charged forward, its two stubby hands flailing wildly in the air, its tone revealing unbelievable shock.
“Big Sister Shiratori’s threat level is actually S-class?!
But you look just like a frail scholar!
What should Yoshino do?
Staying by Big Sister Shiratori’s side might mean absolute safety~”
As if making a joke, Yoshinon burst into laughter after speaking.
It sure slid into calling her “Big Sister Shiratori” naturally, even though it was using a softer tone just a moment ago.
Shiratori scratched her hair in mild annoyance.
Staring into Yoshinon’s two rabbit eyes, one had a poker face while the other had a puppet face; neither expression would naturally change.
Thus, seeing that Shiratori wasn’t teased into showing embarrassment or any other emotion, Yoshinon instantly fired up.
“Yoshinon…
do your best…”
Yoshino murmured somewhat timidly into Yoshinon’s rabbit ear.
Being naturally shy, she could only relinquish control of the conversation to her best partner; whatever the puppet said, she would give it a try.
“Leave it to me!
Even if she rejects us in the end, it doesn’t matter, Yoshino will always have me by her side!”
In truth, rather than receiving Shiratori’s protection, Yoshinon hoped Shiratori could keep Yoshino company—the kind where they played together.
If possible, it would be even better if she could teach her to be strong.
Could an S-class threat like Shiratori teach Yoshino to be strong?
It would be wonderful if she could make Yoshino a bit more decisive, take care of her daily life, and maybe even share the method of maintaining Silent Manifestation.
Then, the two of them could cultivate feelings—moving from keeping their distance now to becoming close friends who shared everything, solving Yoshino’s safety issue once and for all!
Shiratori looked like a very reliable person, so she’d definitely pull it off!
Perhaps out of immense trust in their fellow kind, Yoshinon sold out its own kid to Shiratori just like that.
To put it simply, Yoshinon wanted Shiratori to help babysit…
Either way, both sides were Spirits.
They barely had enough time to protect themselves, so why dig holes for their own kind?
At the same time, Yoshinon didn’t feel like the other party was a bad person at all—in fact, she was way more pleasing to the eye than that blue-haired boy.
“Big Sister Shiratori!”
“Calling me ‘Big Sister’ feels a bit strange…
but if you want me to keep her company, that’s fine.
It’s just that my emotions…”
Shiratori seemed to sense the underlying meaning in the puppet’s words, but considering her own condition, she spoke haltingly.
“Then how about calling you Sister Shiratori?
Is that better?
But speaking of which, what’s wrong with your emotions?”
“They feel a bit unreal.”
“Then that’s perfect!
Yoshino will let you know what real emotions feel like!
But you have to take good care of her!
If you teach a good kid like Yoshino any weird stuff, watch out—I’ll be the first to smash your head!”
Yoshinon’s entire body leaned forward.
Whether Yoshino was intentionally manipulating it or the puppet wanted to do it itself, its tiny hands flailed comically in the air as if it were really going to smash Shiratori’s head.
“Ngh…
then let me make some arrangements first.
Hopefully, there’s still an internet cafe open.”
A/N: Regarding the “END” marker at the end of the previous volume, that’s just my usual writing style on Boluobao…
I like changing the volume-end chapter number to “END”, and starting the next volume with a brand-new Chapter 1 to give it a sense of ceremony.
Of course, if you guys prefer normal chapter numbering, that works too; it’s just a small personal style.
Do you want regular chapter numbers, or keep it like this?
I’m reading the comments, let me know what you think!